Rhetroic translation-Simile

by
joanna /Jun 26, 2011

Rhetoric translation is much widely used in English and Chinese languages, which will let sentences, articles and essays graceful and elegant. So during the translation, if we could not catch the actual meaning of expression for one language, we will not translate the sentences correctly to another language and will the target words suffer an eclipse and overshadowed. In this chapter, we will analyze these rhetoric translations in details.
The aim of rhetoric translation is to make sure the thing what the author want to express have conveyed to the target language correctly. Here we would like to introduce 6 types of rhetoric, simile, metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole, pun and personification.

Simile

As we known, figurative words will let the description more vivid, the things and people lively. We always compare the two different objects with the same or similar characteristics aiming to highlight the main object with the other object. It is called Simile. Usually there are the conjunctions such as like, as,seem, if and as though appear in the sentences. Let us look at some sentences.
Fat reserves are like bank accounts to be drawn on in the winter when food suppliers are limited and sometimes difficult to reach because of snow
脂肪的储备犹如银行账户里的存款，以供冬天食物欠缺和有时由于大雪而难以获得时使用。
Every tree and every branch was covered with bright and delicate hoarfrost, white and pure as snow, delicate and defined as carved ivory.
每棵树及每根树枝都裹上了一层明亮，精美的白霜，如雪花般洁白和纯净，如象牙雕般精致优美。
For above 2 sentences, the author compares the Fat reserves and Hoarfrost with Bank accounts and snow iconic because these compared things have similar characteristics.
Simile is widely used in advertising translation, for example, light as a breeze, soft as a cloud which could be describe as the materials of clothing. By reading this, customers will feel the comfort and lightness of dressing the clothing up.
We should adjust some simile translation because of the difference of culture and customs. For example: as hard as nails (铁石心肠的), as thin as a lath (骨瘦如柴的), as poor as a church mouse (一贫如洗的), as timid as a rabbit (胆小如鼠的), like mushrooms (雨后春笋), etc.